Keeping children active during lockdown

The hurdles of parenting during lockdown coupled with the fears of covid19, losing incomes from jobs, businesses, living on the edge of survival, the uncertainty of children’s education, and minimum social interaction are straining.

This affects both the parents and children however it can as well be a time for positive interaction and proactively keeping children productively active and learning at the same time. Here are a few things you can do:

• Engage them in housework; each child should be a worker in the house based on their ages except for babies, or when sick.
• Teach them a skill such as weaving, baking, farming, and anything that can add an extra skill.
• Teach them an extra language beyond what they know now, especially your mother tongue
• Tell them stories, proverbs and folk tales, songs, and dances if you can. They will learn values and knowledge hidden within.
• Talk to your children individually, and as a team. Know each child as an individual, their aspirations, inspirations, their fears, and friends among others. Also, talk to them as a team and family, evaluate family aspirations and dreams
• Teach them financial skills, the value of money, a simple plan, budgeting, saving, responsible spending, and entrepreneur skills.
• Playtime. Play with your kid, play games, exercise, mind games, read stories, do sports, etc. This will create a natural bonding for the whole family.
• Value and discipline time. Use this lockdown to instill discipline in your children as well as values you need them to have
• Time for life skills lesson, reduce on extravagance and create scenarios that will teach them life skills, teach them about body changes, reproductive health issues, herbal medicine, caring for others, communication, resilience among others. Let your home be the kisakate
• Take time to talk with your children about your plans, lineage, assets, friends and important family information.

Allen Baguma